On Monday, January 20 the 60th United States Presidential Inauguration took place inside the Capitol Building at Washington, D.C. By the end of the ceremony, Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States with J.D. Vance being sworn in as his vice president.
However, before the pair could even take office several defining moments characterized this inauguration as one for the history books.
Beginning with the most obvious difference from previous inaugurations, the ceremony was held inside the Capitol Building instead of its usual setting outside the front of it due to the extremely low temperatures.
According to CBS News, the last inauguration to take place outside was Ronald Reagan’s ceremony in 1985 in which temperatures dropped below 0℉. In addition to this, American flags were flown at half staff in mourning of President Jimmy Carter, however this did not affect the image of the inauguration once it was moved inside. The inauguration also happened to fall on Martin Luther King Day.
Another defining trait of this inauguration was some of its attendees, and lack thereof. According to NPR, billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and, of course, Elon Musk were in attendance. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google was also seen sitting with Zuckerberg, Bezos, and Musk.
The notably absent included former first lady Michelle Obama and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, as stated in The Washington Post. Mike Pence and Karen Pence, former vice president and former second lady, were also not seen at the event.
During the traditional inaugural speech of the President, Trump openly criticized the Biden administration and made several loaded claims, as stated by NPR. Trump claimed the Biden administration failed to provide emergency services for the hurricanes in North Carolina and the wildfires in Los Angeles, as seen in an official transcript of his speech found on the White House’s website. Furthermore, he insinuated that the school system under Biden caused shame among students and condemned its policies on border control as well.
Also included in President Trump’s speech was the now-infamous plan to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. He also declared a crisis at the Southern border and categorized cartels as terrorist organizations. There was also mention of reinvoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which gives the President the authority to deport all non-citizens of foreign enemies according to the National Constitution Center.
In addition to this, President Trump declared an energy emergency, telling the public “We will drill, baby, drill”. He also promised the end of censorship in America, stated that the United States government would only recognize male and female as genders, spoke of his intentions to reinstate military members who were discharged for refusing the COVID vaccine, touched on bringing home hostages from the Middle East and his suspicions towards China’s influence in the Panama Canal, and described his goal to lead as a “peacemaker” during his term.
Overall, many defining new developments were made during President Trump’s inauguration, marking it as a historic event to remember. With it, the nation adds the 47th president (and also the 45th) to its long list of leaders as Trump’s administration begins.
